A STAR IS BORN (M) A raw twin­kle gives way to a last­ing afterglow, US, 136 min

This spec­tac­u­larly alive, as­tute and ab­sorb­ing new ren­di­tion of the clas­sic Hol­ly­wood melo­drama A Star is Born is one of the great allround movie ex­pe­ri­ences of 2018. Mak­ing a bril­liant de­but as di­rec­tor, Bradley Cooper has re­ar­ranged a well-known melody into a fresh, and mov­ing new com­po­si­tion. There is one voice above all else emit­ting a sound so sweet, sor­row­ful and soul­ful that re­sis­tance is all but im­pos­si­ble. It is that of fa­mous pop diva Lady Gaga, mak­ing an as­ton­ish­ing fea­ture lead act­ing de­but in the role of Ally, an as­pir­ing singer­song­writer who catches the ear and heart of a trou­bled roots rock mu­si­cian (Cooper again).